National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Scott George, a cattleman from Cody Wyo., issued the following statement regarding the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed amendment to the mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) rule:   “NCBA has maintained that there is no regulatory fix that can be put […]

Today Colorado’s Jared Polis will announce, outside a reborn organic retail store in Boulder, that he is introducing a federal bill in Congress to mandate the labeling of food containing genetically modified organisms in all 50 states.   And next Tuesday, the Maryland House Health and Government Operations Committee will […]

US – Organic certification verifies that livestock are raised according to the USDA organic regulations throughout their lives.   Like other organic products, organic livestock must be: Organic livestock standards Farmers and ranchers must accommodate the health and natural behavior of their animals year-round. For example, organic livestock must be: […]

US – National Farmers Union (NFU) and the United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA), have released a legal analysis that details the available options for successful US compliance of a recent World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling on County-of-Origin labeling (COOL).   “The comprehensive legal analysis demonstrates that the USDA can come […]

Few Western countries have laws explicitly regulating kosher or halal products—chiefly meat produced by the ritual slaughter of animals, subject to particular standards of health or hygiene. Governments prefer to rely on private companies and market forces to do the job.   KEEPING the government’s nose out of anything with […]

Food Traceability Training   Speaker: SGS United States   SGS’s food traceability training services ensure that your employees have the appropriate knowledge of traceability and product recall procedures. This is vital, since a robust food traceability system ensures compliance with food traceability regulations and reinforces the integrity and reputation of […]

US – Two years later, the effect of FSMA on the regulated community has been modest. This is not because FSMA was overhyped. Rather, it is because the most significant regulations are not yet in effect. But important changes are on the way.   On January 4, 2011, the Food […]

The United States implemented mandatory country of origin labelling (MCOOL) which became effective in March 2009 (USDA AMS, 2009a,b), write Glynn T. Tonsor, Jayson L. Lusk, Ted C. Schroeder, and Mykel R. Taylor in a research paper for Kansas State University.   MCOOL requires grocery retailers to provide country-of-origin labeling […]

US – Calling it vital to the US pork industry’s ability to more quickly control and eradicate foreign animal diseases and keep export markets open, the National Pork Producers Council has praised the US Department of Agriculture for issuing a final rule to implement a national animal identification system.   […]

NEW MEXICO, US – New Mexico State Senator, Peter Wirth, has pre-filed a proposed amendment to the New Mexico Food Act to require the labelling of genetically engineered (GE) food and feed.   The amendment (SB 18) was drafted with support from the consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch […]